Action for OctoberGreenhouse and veg

On the veg plot

Sprouts

Cut off the tops of Brussels sprout plants to encourage sprouts to ripen all at once. This is useful if you want to pick and freeze your crop and clear the ground of plants.

Broad beans

Sow broad beans now for a tasty crop next summer

Sow winter varieties of broad beans such as ‘Aquadulce Claudia’ in late October in all but the coldest areas. Dig a wide, flat-bottomed trench and plant a double row in case some seeds fail to germinate or get eaten by mice.

Tomatoes

If you still have tomatoes outdoors in October, dig up plants and hang them in the greenhouse for the fruit to ripen (this also works with chillies). 

Another method is to put the fruits on a windowsill with a banana or in a paper bag – the banana will give off ethylene, which will help the tomatoes ripen. Alternatively, make green tomato chutney.

Cabbages

After harvesting cabbages use a sharp knife to make a cross cut in the top of the cut stem. In a few months, fresh tender leaves will sprout from the old stem and you can use them as spring greens.

In the greenhouse

Pot up rooted tender perennial and shrub cuttings by the middle of the month. Grow them on in a light, frost-free place.

Scrub the greenhouse inside and out

This will get rid of pests and diseases, and will ensure that the maximum light can get through during autumn and winter.

This will get rid of pests and diseases, and will ensure that the maximum light can get through during autumn and winter.

Insulate with bubble wrap

If you have an aluminium greenhouse, you can use Aliplugs (from garden centres) to fix it up. If you have a wooden one, use drawing pins.